"RedTalks" Coming to St. Benedict's Thursday

ST. JOSEPH (WJON News) - For the first time in its 12-year history, the “RedTalks” will happen on the College of St. Benedict Campus.

The annual “RedTalks” feature fun, short, and engaging discussions on many topics, all in the popular “TedTalk” format.

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Six current and former students will present their thoughts starting at 5:30 pm Thursday in the Gorecki Family Theater.

According to the college’s website, the speakers include:

Elizabeth Wold ’25 – “Self-Worth: A Lesson in Faith and Boundaries”

Wold is a communication major and Entrepreneur Scholar who is scheduled to graduate this coming fall. She runs Lifeline, a worship club on campus for Bennies, and has also coached dance this year, as well as publishing her own devotional.

Tess Cavanaugh ’27 – “What’s for Dinner Tonight”

Cavanaugh is a first-year student at CSB majoring in economics and theology with a minor in Hispanic studies. She is part of SJU Campus Ministry, plays on the CSB lacrosse team, and is a member of the Bonner Leader Program.

Canaan Cooper ’25 – “Don’t Let Setbacks Set You Back”

Cooper is a biochemistry major and neuroscience minor at SJU set to graduate this May. He came to SJU from Nassau in The Bahamas and is also an Entrepreneur Scholar, as well as the head captain of the CSB and SJU dynamic speech and debate team and club, the judicial board chairman on the Saint John’s Senate, a Caribbean Zumba Instructor, chemistry teaching assistant, an SJU RA (resident assistant) and the junior co-chair of the Archipelago Caribbean Association.

Meghan Fitzgerald Bonde ’07 – “Ending the Deforestation of Rainforest Minds”

Bonde is now an organizational neurodiversity specialist, TEDx speaker, and transformational learning facilitator. She holds an educational specialist degree in educational leadership from the University of Northern Colorado, a master's degree in speech-language and hearing sciences from the University of Colorado, and a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in Spanish from CSB.

John Murray ’11 – “Living Across Borders and Above Walls”

Murray has worked in China for 12 years and has built international trade and marketing partnerships in 27 countries. In 2016, he founded a sports marketing agency known as JCMINT. He helped lead the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves on the team’s 2017 NBA China tour, delivered marketing campaigns for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, and activated China partnerships for NBA athletes like Kobe Bryant and James Harden. He continues to build global connections for underrepresented athletes and communities through the project Hope in Motion.

Tom Thibodeau '73 – “Becoming an Ambassador for Goodness”

Thibodeau is the Distinguished Professor of Servant Leadership at Viterbo University, the school where has now taught for 40 years. He founded the school’s Master of Arts in Servant Leadership degree, the only master’s degree of its kind in the nation. He is also a founding member of the Place of Grace hospitality house where he currently serves as director with his wife Priscilla.

There is no charge for current students, while tickets for alumni, faculty, staff, and friends are $10.

For a link to purchase tickets, click here.

To read the story from the College of St. Benedict, click here.